Humble Farmers Wish You a Healthy Life!

The farmers of Madhya Pradesh have made a switch to make sure you eat right!

They are poor monetarily, but that is the outcome of the chemical menace that occurred in their profession, farming. It's been a while since some have developed a taste for the farming ways of their ancestors. Surprisingly, they are contented with it more than the 'modern methods'.

He Kicked the Chemicals

"I don't have easy availability of water and I am not financially settled. But I cannot excuse my farming because of these. I followed the ZBNF instructions with Jeevamrit(a mixture of cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, flour of pulses & soil from the farm). I did not use a lot of water, yet I had seven quintals from a meager sowing of 15 kg in just half an acre," shares Buddhram Dhabde, a farmer from Betul, a district in Madhya Pradesh.

Never wanting to practice chemical farming in the first place, Buddhram attended the Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) course which trains farmers on techniques of natural farming with minimal to no-expense. "I was impressed. The result of seven quintals was marvelous. There was no chance for this to happen with chemicals," says Buddhram.

One day, a salesman from a chemical company in Hyderabad visited their village. Buddhram sternly refused to buy chemicals any more from any company in the world. "I told the salesperson that I have been using chemicals for ten years, but I have stopped using the chemicals for good now."

'Zero' Is The New Hero!

"When I saw my field, and especially when others started noticing my humble farm, I realized that I was so lucky to have someone guide me. Every month I had visitors to see what I was doing. Even they are inspired now to take up farming. I have 15 acres and I will gradually turn it all into natural-farming land. If I have a good market, I will provide natural food to my fellow-countrymen," he shares.

Buddhram echoes the convenience of practicing ZBNF in terms of money. With all the requirements available at home, he spends a minimal Rs. 200 per acre; with chemical-farming, this would have been Rs. 2000 per acre. The expense is next to Zero.

Contented with the height of the paddy produce—more than 3 feet—Buddhram credits ZBNF for the crucial switch. After losing trust in everybody, this course made him rediscover trust and faith.

A practitioner of Sudarshan Kriya, Buddhram says, "Now I aim to grow, eat, and also let others eat chemical-free. I will tell every farmer on this planet to turn to chemical-free farming; if you do it with ZBNF, great! I wish that every household reading this will tell their neighbor about eating right," he smiles.

This Was the First Time

In another testimony, Prabhu Dayal, a farmer from Betul shares that in his entire lifetime, he had never seen his farmland as bright as gold. "I sowed 10 kg in less than half an acre. I followed all the instructions given in the ZBNF course. Such rich golden wheat, with surprisingly high amount of produce, happened without chemicals. I used very little water, next to negligible; I used Jeevamrit instead. It produced an unbelievable 3 quintals," says Prabhu.

Grateful to the new technique, he said that he doesn't want to take the burden of losses with chemicals from now on.

An advocate and a farmer, Rajendra from Chandpur village in Bhopal opined that the less-input-better-output fundamentals have left him in deep retrospection. "While undergoing the ZBNF course, I repeatedly thought, Where was I lost for so many years? What I have gained after the course is priceless," said Rajendra, who grows wheat, lentils, and chickpea using the ZBNF techniques.

In a comparative experiment, Rajendra divided his farm into two—one side for each of the practices. For the first time since his childhood, he witnessed the wheat plants grow amazingly tall in height, bright golden, and rich in texture. "I can tell you that the wheat plants grown with chemicals was very weak, dull, and not with that unique shine that ZBNF wheat had. I will gradually make my whole farm chemical-free," he added.

Going, Going... Saved!

We take our produce in the market, where different middlemen interfere. We farmers, the owners of the produce, are sidelined. The auction starts and they rob us of our hard -earned money. We are not getting justice in due returns. Honestly, I would not have done the chemical -free ZBNF farming without the support of The Art of Living Course

Rajendra, Farmer, Madhya Pradesh.

We Have Joined, Will You Join?

Rajendra feels that as a farmer it is his responsibility to feed non-chemical, natural, and healthy food to his fellow-countrymen. He feels farmers have lost touch with themselves and the authentic Indian way of farming, but this course will redefine it.

He concludes, "I wish to make more farmers join this movement. Even in organic farming, with vermicompost it takes four to five months to make manure, but with ZBNF techniques I can get the manure ready within a few days! I can now prepare everything at home. I save on my time, my invested money, my soil, and most importantly our nation's health!"

Written by Monica PatelIf you like to contribute your time to our agricultural projects, please write to us at webteam.india@artofliving.org or just drop in your comments below.